I first met Jim Ales many years ago—well before the turn of the millennium—during a conference event at Monterey Bay Aquarium. The mesmerizing beauty of the jellyfish and kelp forests were a vivid contrast to the concrete canyons of my New York City life. In fact, that evening’s would eventually draw me to San Francisco. Now it all seems prescient, given my current role as Creative Director of the California Academy of Sciences. It is through this role that I really got to know Jim Ales. During his tenure as Design Director for Monterey Bay Aquarium, Jim created a visual communications system for an institution recognized in this world of zoos and aquariums (into which I have plunged) as best-of-class.
So, when Jim asked if I would interview him for the AIGA Fellows Awards, I welcomed the chance to find out more about how he had established and maintained a consistent aesthetic articulation of the Aquarium’s brand voice during his twenty years as Design Director. As well as an opportunity to bring to light the creative enigma that is Jim.
Jim is so renowned for his work at Monterey Bay Aquarium that one could almost forget that he had had a tremendously productive design career in the ten years prior, in his design studio simply called “Jim Ales Design Office”, working with clients such as Levi Strauss, Domaine Chandon, and George Lucas. And even while working at the Aquarium, he moonlighted on projects through his Studio 280—the name being a nod to the interstate that connects San Francisco to San Jose.
And perhaps a connection to the past: it was in the suburbs of San José that Jim was born and raised. At an early age he discovered the joy and escape of drawing and coloring. As a teenager he played on sports teams and painted backdrops for the drama club. After high school, he bypassed college to work at his father’s print shop. Typical of those times, printers also supplied designs for stationery, brochures and such. Jim’s dad began apprenticing him with frequent assignments and soon enough Jim became what was known as a commercial artist. Along the way, he discovered the book “Milton Glaser, Graphic Design” which opened his eyes to the interconnectedness of stories and design. A portfolio ensued, combining drawing, graphic styling and print production. From there he secured a position at an ad agency, took to opening his own studio on Townsend street, and worked day and night as designers everywhere do, before closing up shop to take the position of art director at Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1996.
Jim oversaw the strategy, vision and direction of the institution’s visual voice. Members and award-granting institutions (and designers!) appreciated the beautiful annual reports that Jim and his team regularly created. Communications from the Aquarium were immediately recognizable for their adherence to crisp design, contrasting bold type with pristine imagery in highly structured formats. The triannual member publication he designed, Shorelines, was widely admired. In fact, Jim received a brief fan note that read, “This is the best damn magazine I get, bar none. —Steve Jobs, member.”
Looking at his work, one is struck by its California friendliness and candid intelligence. Rather than edgy cleverness, it shows a warmth, a concern for humanity, and offers a sure-footedness on the common ground of public good and worldly culture. Jim continuously sought creative approaches that were grand ideas communicated with delicacy and style: balancing illustration, photography, color, and typographic treatments that drew from the best of the international and classical traditions. Above all, he sought to do work that people could love, remember, and keep around to enjoy and share. And by doing this, Jim attracted a clientele who genuinely appreciated his talent for art direction, storytelling, and thoughtful play. He aspired and encouraged others to think of designing as so much more than “strategic tactics” and “measurable outcomes” with “target users” that have become the pedestrian talking points of so much of today’s design business.
Jim suggested doing this interview via email after attempts to synchronize our calendars and locations proved slightly beyond us. But just as likely it was because Jim wanted to get the words precisely right. So, we went back and forth on questions: I tried to get the didactic answers I imagined AIGA readers expected, while Jim, ever the wordsmith, crafted poetic responses of delightful intrigue.
Rhonda Rubinstein:
What are your inspirations?
Jim Ales:
She sits in the third row orchestra, string section. A classical violinist. I don’t know her name. A player in obscurity. I picture her as a young student, her years passing through music. I think of her knowledge, her dedication, her setbacks, her passion. She meets a tell-all friend at morning yoga class. Lunch is leftovers out of a Tupperware container. She feeds the cat. This evening, dressed in symphony black, her body, heart and instrument play in single motion. Disciplined. And I feel her sound, her movements, her joy—this nameless virtuoso, offering her soul for my pleasure. This is what inspires me.
RR:
What is your most treasured book?
JA:
“A Book of Luminous Things” by Czeslaw Milosz. Milosz’s personal selection of poems written through the ages and from around the world. Expressions of love, loss, desire, fate, morality, fear… is witness to the human experience we all share. I find it reassuring that the cycles of our lives are both universal and timeless.
RR:
Most treasured object?
JA:
A jar of small stones collected on the beach over the years. Each slightly different – size, shape, color. Each its own discovery – gathering hopes, dreams, sorrows, wishes, doubts, stumbles, victories. Years smoothed over by time.
RR:
Most treasured memory?
JA:
The births of my two daughters. Memories renewed each day.
RR:
I asked him about the evolution of his work.
JA: I’m terribly dyslexic. This, along with accompanying hyperactivity disorder. As a child, my condition went undiagnosed. As a result, I was labeled a “slow learner” and “troublemaker.” Classroom teaching structures were a direct collision course with my brain. For many creative individuals, this is not uncommon. We’ve all struggled with the emotional results: shame, self-worth, failure. I barely finished high school, and college was not an option, nor desired. RR: The breadth of your work is extremely varied, from impeccably tight typographic layouts to dramatically expressive illustrations. What brings it all together? JA: “The virtuosity of crudeness.” I don’t remember where I came across that, but for me, it resonates in the freedom it implores. The permission of ideas – and the mysterious places they lead us. Where structure and rules don’t exist. I rely on my personal experiences to frame a story, and that story can take many forms of expression. Subtle, explosive, provoking. Self-exposure is scary, but the rewards far outweigh the risk. RR: You spent twenty years overseeing a cohesive identity for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, how did you keep it current? JA: Strict adherence to voice. How an organization sounds is extremely important. A consistent, steady voice builds TRUST— which is the foundation of our brand. Any good parent raising kids practices this daily. One of the pleasures of having worked at the Aquarium is their relentless drive to invent, challenge and educate. As communicators, we’re constantly challenged with complex and varied issues for public consumption. Our structure and rhythm of words are owned by the viewer. They are recognized and reassuring. Like the sounds of family around the dinner table. The Aquarium’s visual design is influenced by the voice. Straightforward. Informative. Respectful. As a designer, I’m starting a conversation. RR: I was particularly interested in that conversation. At the time, I was serving as a board member of the AIGA SF chapter, specifically as co-chair of Compostmodern – organized to inspire and recognize sustainable design solutions. So, I was particularly interested in how a tiny format brochure could change the behavior of consumers, suppliers and producers of seafood. One of the most significant pieces you created (in terms of impact) may also have been one of the smallest. The pocket-sized Seafood Watch has changed how we think about eating fish as well as how the industry produces it. What is the story of that project and the role design played? JA: The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans. The program began in response to overfishing of rockfish populations in the Monterey Bay region. Research proved that several other species were at risk. To help inform consumers and businesses, we launched a consumer awareness campaign in the form of a pocket-sized folding card guide – listing what fish were sustainably safe to purchase and which to avoid at local markets and restaurants. Our creative and design strategy was to position Seafood Watch as a “consumer retail brand.” Our goal was to reach and educate a mainstream audience: a vast potential of new consumers. We felt it was critical to develop a positive voice, offering consumers a choice – not a lecture. The visual program is anchored by life-science illustrations – lending both authenticity and emotional connections to the story and a safe entry point for individual empowerment. Since the program began, over 40 million Seafood Watch Pocket Guides have been distributed nationwide. As a result, consumer demand, and the resulting economic pressures it placed on fisheries, has made significant progress. Major retail chains, corporations, international government agencies and influential chefs are now partnering with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. These efforts are changing harvesting and purchasing policies that help protect endangered species and ocean environments worldwide. RR: Given that Jim was receiving the AIGA Fellows award, which honors seasoned designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in design in the Bay Area, I wanted to ask him about his legacy. What have been the pivotal moments for you as a designer? JA: A job interview with Michael Manwaring. He had forgotten our scheduled meeting and he was almost out the door on a late Friday afternoon. Kindly, he sat with me, reviewing my portfolio. To this day, I remember his exact words: “good concepts kid, but your type needs work.” RR: What would you like to be remembered for? JA: Never accepting the safe way out. RR: What failure have you learned the most from? JA: The failure of not accepting fear, confrontation, rejection, disappointment. These things that live in the cracks. Yet they serve a purpose. They offer strength, compassion, forgiveness. I’m learning to explore inside the cracks. RR: How has the design world changed since you first started working? JA: When I entered the profession, the role of design was little understood. The profession carried a certain mystique, much like a secret society. The advent of personal computers in the late 1980’s drastically changed the landscape. Design quickly became public ground, attainable to all. After some growing pains, the profession ultimately benefited. It’s become our global Paris salon. The multiple disciplines that now make up the design profession has become a welcoming open field for thinkers, dreamers, risk takers, artists and vagabonds. Somewhere, Gertrude Stein is smiling. RR: What do you see as the role of the designer today? JA: Solving, not making. RR: What's next? JA: I would like to teach/inspire/lead the next generation of courageous designers. Jim has certainly taught, inspired and led, as evidenced by these accomplishments: He lectured at conferences, seminars and universities and was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Academy of Art University in SF. His work has appeared in Graphis Publications, AIGA, Communication Arts, American Association of Museums publications, Museum News, Applied Arts, How and Print magazines. His commentaries on design and brand strategy were published in Allworth Press, Rockport Press and AIGA publications. He served on the AIGA’s National Board of Directors from 2006-2009 and was elected an AIGA Fellow in 2015. Postscript After Jim left the Aquarium in 2016, he set out on a variety of creative endeavors: developing videos: beautiful, sweet, raunchy; producing illustrations: fresh, lyrical, graphic; and always crafting visual stories: words, photography, design. Even composing a sketchbook project that embraced themes such as Sex and Revolution. More was in the works, but alas, not to be realized. On April 20, 2018 at the age of 64, Jim Ales unexpectedly passed away. However, his digital presence persists. On his website, as if he knew we might look for inspiration, Jim reflected on the journey: The destinations may differ, but our travels are much alike. We strive to do good, to make our time meaningful, to bring joy to others, And in our common days we dream—our sneaky voice of possibilities, taking us beyond structure, beyond control. Pay attention, for in these moments lives the courage of ideas. If we give them their due space, if we nurture and guide them, our travels are forever alive. Rhonda Rubinstein is the Creative Director of the California Academy of Sciences — a museum and research center in Golden Gate Park, renowned for its aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, and architecture by Renzo Piano. As Creative Director, she orchestrates how design, photography, typography and infographics converge in the public experience as exhibitions, environmental graphics, and print, digital and interactive communications. Resonant with the Academy’s mission, Rhonda cofounded BigPicture Natural World Photography, an acclaimed international competition and exhibit focused on wildlife and conservation, which led to her curation of WONDERS: Spectacular Moments in Nature Photography, published by Chronicle Books in 2018. Rhonda began her career in the magazine publishing world of New York City, earning awards and working her way up the newsstand to become Art Director of Esquire. Her work is celebrated in many books, most recently in Uncovered: Revolutionary Magazine Covers by the Mavericks Who Made Them.